Attention everybody: Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. There is no special exception from this rule for political campaigns and narrow election losses. I don’t know if we need more civility in this country, but we could genuinely use more friendship. Cutting off friends, family, or your church because of how you think people voted is not the answer. And you don’t actually know how anyone voted, not even your spouse or best buddy. I believe this point was explicitly addressed during the campaign, yes?
I’m not telling you this because I’m happy about the election. I hate everything about it, especially the outcome. I hate having an election campaign raise real concerns about the physical safety of my family. This is mostly a reminder to myself that the command to love my enemies hasn’t been suspended, and that it is and has to remain the foundation of my actions.
Attention Trump voters: Congratulations, your candidate won the election. You now own everything that happens over the next four years. I expect it to be pretty bad, just like the last time was pretty bad. But good luck! Also, the winning side bears the responsibility of reaching across the aisle, showing sympathy and understanding, and trying to restore some semblance of unity. Time to get to work on that.
Attention, priesthood holders: Using slurs to refer to Kamala Harris during the election campaign was unworthy of a bearer of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Continuing to do so after the election compounds your sin. Your friends, family, and current and former ward members see what you’re doing on social media and wish you’d stop.
Attention despairing Mormon Democrats: Every incumbent government up for re-election around the world has seen its share of voters decline, but Biden’s decrease was one of the very lowest worldwide, a sign that he’s done an exceptional job as president. Every non-battleground state shifted six percentage points on average towards the Republicans, while the states where Harris campaigned heavily shifted only three percent, a sign that she did an exceptional job as a candidate. And unlike other non-battleground states, Utah barely shifted at all. The repeated messaging about political neutrality, good in every political party, and avoiding straight-ticket voting had an effect. It tastes bitter right now, but this is what success looks like.
Yes. This is so needed.
Attention Harris Voters: you and your college+ education will be vindicated in front of the entire world in the coming years. Just be ready to help clean up the mess without saying, “I told you so”, and we might just make it through this. Maybe.
My takeaways (mantra for the week) from Come Follow Me last week and this were:
“Lay down your weapons of war.”
“Go to work and build.”
Reciting the first in my head last week saved me from making many an unkind or frustrated comment.
The second points me forward in the present moment.
I have been amazed at the timely usefulness of these things.
Utah barely shifted at all….It tastes bitter right now, but this is what success looks like.
That Mormons are perhaps the only geographically concentrated group in the country not rushing headlong in the wrong direction is a reason for hope, but I cannot call it success.
Coffinberry, it’s the new Mormon curse: “May you see how the Book of Mormon is especially relevant in your time.” Yes, I get it now, thanks.
Why did she lose?
Yes. Also:
Attention Trump voters: Congratulations, you won fair and square. That demonstrates the voting system is not rigged against you. Please keep that in mind when you lose again someday. We don’t expect you to like it (we don’t like it now) but we do expect you to accept it. That’s what makes a democracy work.
Both sides win and lose in every presidential election IMO. I have never been thrilled with any presidential choice. Trump/Harris ticket reminds myself that US politics are crappy at best. If that’s the best either team could come up with….Jesus take the wheel!
In my house we are free to talk politics at our dinner gatherings and both teams are well represented. I enjoy the banter and opposing views. At the end of the meal we have a good laugh and still love each other. We call and mockingly comfort the side that lost. We point out the faults of each others choices for four years and then do it all again. All in good fun, mingled with passion. In short, we love the voter, while not loving who they voted for. Works for us.
The world is not going to end now that Trump is back, and it certainly would not end if Harris was elected.
It is all very entertaining tho!
God bless us all.
Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election. He was an instigator of an insurrection, but was too cowardly too participate. He lies constantly. He doesn’t pay income tax. He wants tax reductions for the rich. Etc.
There is no doubt he will try not leave office in 4 yrs. Transition will be an issue. Why shouldn’t Mormon liberals be depressed. I’m 79 and this is worst constitution crises we have faced in my lifetime. Democracy is in danger and Trumpist don’t care. Are we supposed to grin and bear it?
Saying you didn’t like Trump or Harris is a co-out.
For a post ostensibly about having charity about the election results, I sure sense a lot of hostility here (more in the comments than the actual post.)
Rogerdhansen – It is ok for you to like Harris but not ok for me to not like either one? Interesting view. Thanks for sharing.
Hoosier, I believe her loss was due to gaining fewer votes in the Electoral College.
REC911, it is in fact not okay to think both candidates were equally bad, and treat the outcome as a joke. There were hugely important things at stake. Trump promised to uproot a lot of people’s lives if elected and cancel programs that a lot of people depend on. That is now likely to happen. (Or you may look at the results and say: This is a huge win for protecting unborn life, or whatever it is that motivates you to vote.) This is life and death stuff, not entertainment. You say that the world will not end, but for various definitions of “world” and “end,” that is quite a bit less certain than it was a week ago.
Curtis, what you are detecting is normally called sadness and dismay. If you picked the winning side, you’re responsible for being the first to show charity and for trying to understand others’ sadness.
Roger, none of what you say voids the command to love your enemies.
Trump promised? There is your problem. Campaign promises are rarely fulfilled. They are typically forgotten. Both candidates are equally bad to me just as your candidate is the best for you Jonathan. I dont treat the outcome as a joke, I accept the outcome since I cant change the outcome. The two-party system is killing the “united” America. Both parties are doing all they can to deepen the divide. There will be death whatever side wins. The sun will come up regardless of who is elected. We will continue to have rich and poor. Every election someone is not going to get what they want. Sorry that the fact I dont get worked up about the outcome is not ok with you. I have no problem with either teams passion, until they hate the other side. (or in my case, hate the no-side)
Absolutely not. As the current meme says….. “Don’t let politics ruin your
relationships” It’s funny how this is almost always said by the same people who voted against
your rights. I don’t feel comfortable around you. The
person that you voted for is homophobic, racist, and hates women and none of that was a dealbreaker for you. It IS personal. We have a difference in morals and I do feel differently about
you. You cannot tell someone you love them
and then try to take their rights away.
REC911, it’s really not true that both parties are trying to deepen the divide. Harris promised to be the president of all Americans, including those who didn’t vote for her, and include a Republican in her candidate. Trump’s rhetoric was much more starkly divisive. Taking a detached and cynical view of the world doesn’t give you a clearer picture of reality.
D, I don’t know who you’re addressing here. In any case, the command to love your enemy isn’t conditioned on anyone else’s efforts to love you, or even if they hate you and despitefully use you.
Comment was specifically addressed to your original post. And while the command is to live your enemies one can and should remove them from your life. “Go and tell that fox”
D, you say that the person I voted for is “homophobic, racist, and hates women.” That seems like an odd thing to say about Kamala Harris. You’re going to have to unpack that a bit for me.
I don’t buy cutting half the country out of your life because of how they voted as the practice of love. To have any meaning at all, love has to have consequences that can be distinguished from hate. Certainly there might be a few people that someone might need to break contact with in specific situations, but none of this works – not democracy, not institutions, not families – if we make that a practice based on how people vote.
Loving our enemies is definitely not satisfying, and I understand the attraction of wanting to see enemies suffer. But that was not an option we were given.
Indeed:
43 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
D, you say that the person I voted for is “homophobic, racist, and hates women.” That seems like an odd thing to say about Kamala Harris. You’re going to have to unpack that a bit for me.
you are being deliberately obtuse
I’m all in on charity. Charity to your neighbor, the poor, the widows, etc. I’m also a believer in facts. Trump is NOT a good person. He was NOT a good president. But I really want the USA to succeed. It’s been my country for 79 yrs. I served her well. But for now I’m an ex-pat.
D, here’s what you wrote: ” I don’t feel comfortable around you. The person that you voted for is homophobic, racist, and hates women and none of that was a dealbreaker for you.” I asked who you were addressing your comment to. You said it was a response to my original post.
So once again: Are you directing that to me, as a Harris voter? Or are you directing it to Trump voters in general? Here’s another chance for you to clarify what you mean.
YOUR ENTIRE POST IS ABOUT “BE NICE TO TRUMP VOTERS EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE DISPICABLE”
OF COURSE THAT QUOTE IS ABOUT TRUMP VOTERS. STOP BEING PURPOSELY STUPID.
Och, D, lad, ye need tae calm yerself doon! This is meant tae be a place for fellowship an’ peace, nae a shoutin’ match. Christ Himself didnae go roarin’ through the streets, now did He? He taught wi’ kindness, patience, an’ love—even when faced wi’ folk who didnae agree wi’ Him.
So take a deep breath, man, and let the Spirit guide yer words. Less CAPS LOCK, more compassion, aye? Let’s honor His name wi’ a bit o’ grace and humility. It’s no aboot winnin’ an argument but sharin’ His love wi’ gentleness.
Now go on, lad, an’ let’s keep the blog a wee bit mair Christ-like, shall we?
Ach, laddie, ye’ve crossed a line there, ye have. Callin’ someone purposefully stupid? That’s no the way o’ Christ, now is it? He ne’er mocked folk, even when they didnae ken His teachings. Instead, He showed patience an’ love, even tae those who opposed Him.
“Let no corrupt word proceed out o’ yer mouth,” aye? Ephesians 4:29, if ye need a reminder. Ye’re nae called tae tear folk doon but tae build them up wi’ kindness an’ wisdom.
So, why not take a step back, aye? Apologize tae the one ye’ve wronged an’ use yer words tae heal, no hurt. That’s the Christ-like way, and we’re all here tae follow it, nae tae stray fae it, D ma brotha.
I didn’t vote for Trump myself–but I gotta say that his rise to power is, in part at least, the fault of the left. The left has been calling the right “deplorables” and every kind of “phobe” and “ist” for thirty years now. The average American Joe and Jane can take having those nasty little epithets hurled at them only for so long before they start to push back. And so when Trump appears on the scene and seems impervious to the left’s ever increasing deluge of criticism is it any wonder that his campaign sounds like a “fanfare for the common man” to so many?
I realize that the right has had plenty to say about the left too. But let’s remember that right’s method of delivery looks like a rusty old bullhorn compared to the left’s double Marshall stack.
Or perhaps I should say “sounds” like a rusty old bullhorn…
I’m always mixing my metaphors.
***
That’s a wonderful comment, Ghost of Nixon.
Jack, no, absolutely not. The Left didn’t force Republicans to nominate Trump, and the Left didn’t force anyone to vote for him. People make choices, and they have to own those choices.
D, the demand to love and be kind to Trump voters (and everyone else) is straight from The Man himself. No exceptions. I don’t make the rules, and I can’t change them. You don’t have to go along with it, of course, but it is the one and only way to follow Jesus. After an election loss is the time to confront hard realities, and this is one of them.
Come now, Jonathan. I agree that every voter is ultimately responsible for his or her own choice–but we don’t live in a vacuum. The world we live in is full of influences tugging on us one way or the other, vying for our attention and loyalty and even our fear. To suggest that those elements play no part in calling people to action is like saying the bully’s actions had nothing to do with his victim hiring a body guard.
Having said that, I understand that it’s a two-way street for the most part. But even so, from the right’s perspective the left has been systematically destroying everything that is sacred to them and then blaming *them* for resisting, labelling them bigots and everything else in the book.
As I’ve said elsewhere, I didn’t vote for Trump–he’s too far “out there” for me. But in light of what I’ve said above I can certainly understand why some folks would vote for him–and I think the left needs to stop and ask themselves if maybe–just maybe–they’ve had a hand in generating the kind of ire that can get people vote a mobster into office–rather than making the bald assumption that more than half the population has lost it.
Hope may last comment wasn’t too harsh, Jonathan. I have immense respect for you–and agree with most of what you say on the blogs.
Jack, no one forced Republicans to nominate Trump. They had plenty of other experienced and capable politicians to choose from. But collectively they were most attracted to a serial liar and insurrectionist who had been found legally liable for sexual abuse. I believe you will find that various people on the right have also said mean things about Democrats, and yet recent Democratic nominees and presidents have all been capable and reasonably successful. It’s Republicans who chose a nominee that embodied their fears, resentment and desire for vengeance. And they have to own that choice.
The Ghost of Richard Nixon wins the prize for the best comment today!
The real question for me is which candidate espouses the policies and values that come the closest to my own, there is no question that was/is Harris. Think immigration, social safety net, assisting the poor, progressive view of science and research, supporting education, taxes on the wealthy, support for ERA, true civil rights for all, etc.
Apparently 2/3’s of Mormons voted for Trump. This makes me sad. I wonder about being in a Church where the majority of members have such differing values from my own.
Roger, as the poll experts have said, there is no way for exit polling so soon after the election to provide that level of accuracy about small subgroups.
Jonathan, you are arguing to delay the obvious. Sort of an apologist strategy. A lot of Mormons voted for Trump. I live in Utah County, a lot of my neighbors voted for Trump. We need to deal with the bifurcation of the members: conservative and progressives. If there is no room for progressives, then the Church needs to join the so-called Christian Right. And the progressives need to move past Church membership.
Trump has altered the Church. Hopefully not irretrievably. But the future doesn’t look bright with the current elderly Church leadership. They seem attached to JFS and BRM version of Mormonism. Which doesn’t well with moderate and progressives members.
Roger, “heavily Republican county votes Republican” is not an interesting observation. You really need to come up with some evidence for what you’re claiming. Early exit polls are not reliable, especially for small subgroups. It’s the same problem with the stories claiming that two thirds of Native voters went for Trump based on an early exit poll.
The members are not bifurcating, because the number of progressives remains small, just as the number of progressives in the overall population is small.
Trump has not changed the Church. Please, read the news and see what has happened in other churches. The Church does not need to join in on it. What an odd thing to say.
You know where there is bifurcation? Online. As everyone in politics has come to realize, online is not real life.
Roger, I’m a long way from Utah County and I know a lot of this comes down to your own ward, but to me this feels like the best time to be politically left-of-center in the Church in my lifetime. Political neutrality doesn’t get lip service, it gets conference talks. And yet the First Presidency keeps sending messages that pretty clearly suggest members reconsider voting for Trump. (Does anyone think they were worried members might vote for a Democrat out of habit despite Trump’s “demonstrated integrity, compassion, and service to others”?) The Proclamation on the Family isn’t going away, but the Church worked with a lesbian senator to pass a bill that codified both same-sex marriage and religious freedom protections around it. President Nelson may not believe in evolution, but he isn’t insisting others shouldn’t. And when the scientific consensus said that church members shouldn’t hold meetings, should wear masks, and should get vaccinated, he said not to hold meetings, wear masks, and get vaccinated.
The bifurcation I see is between the MAGA movement and the Church. Not that the Church is becoming progressive–not remotely. But right-wing members are now in the same position as left-wing members: they have to navigate the contradictions between their politics and their faith. We need to be engaged in politics, but letting God prevail in our lives now clearly precludes being a fully loyal member of either party or any other political movement.